Why trust a theory? : epistemology of fundamental physics /

Do we need to reconsider scientific methodology in light of modern physics? Has the traditional scientific method become outdated, does it need to be defended against dangerous incursions, or has it always been different from what the canonical view suggests? To what extent should we accept non-empi...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Dardashti, Radin, 1983- (Editor), Dawid, Richard, 1966- (Editor), Thébault, Karim (Editor)
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Subjects:
Online Access:CONNECT
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • Historical and conceptual background. Fundamental theories and epistemic shifts : can history of science serve as a guide?
  • Scientific speculation : a pragmatic approach
  • Assessing scientific theories
  • Philosophy of science and the string wars : a view from the outside
  • Theory assessment beyond empirical confirmation. The significance of non-empirical confirmation in fundamental physics
  • The dangers of non-empirical confirmation
  • No alternative to proliferation
  • Physics without experiments?
  • Scientific methodology : a view from early string theory
  • What can we learn from analogue experiments?
  • Are black holes about information?
  • Cosmology and testability. The limits of cosmology
  • The role of cosmology in modern physics
  • Theory confirmation and multiverses
  • Beyond falsifiability : normal science in a multiverse
  • Gaining access to the early universe
  • Prospects for confirmation in string theory. String theory to the rescue
  • Why trust a theory? Some further remarks
  • The dangerous irrelevance of string theory
  • String/M-theories about our world are testable in the traditional physics way
  • Is string phenomenology an oxymoron?